In the past, there have been many nestable shipping containers which are unitary in construction and which may be provided with skids and the like to enable the handling of these containers by conventional fork lift equipment. Indeed, in some of the former container systems, a multiplicity of wheels on a dolly-like arrangement have been carried within the top of the container for use upon arrival at the destination of the container. Such a system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,376,046 issued to J. S. Kivett et al. on Apr. 2, 1968. It will be appreciated that in this patent, a dolly-like structure is carried within the container and fits within the grooves on the bottom of the container when it is desired to move the container. The configuration is, however, one in which lateral sway and movement or tipping motion is controlled by a multiplicity of wheels which contact the floor. The same situation applies to U.S. Pat. No. 2,696,990 issued to F. W. Davis, Dec. 14, 1954, which shows spaced-apart wheels utilized with a handle and a strap for moving a suitcase. It will be appreciated that the lateral stability is primarily produced by the spaced-apart wheels and that a single handle is used. Moreover, in the past, pallets have been provided with wheels for easier maneuverability, and one such patent is U.S. Pat. No. 3,211,311 issued to H. Krabbenschmidt on Oct. 12, 1965. In this patent, two wheels are utilized such that when the pallet is tipped upwardly, the wheels contact the ground. It should be noted that these wheels are in spaced-apart relationship and provide a certain amount of lateral stability. It should also be noted that unlike the present invention, which constitutes conversion of a unitary container into a wheelbarrow, this pallet is not unitary in construction and provides no wheelbarrow arms for lateral stability. Moreover, it is not a wheelbarrow configuration in that lateral stability is at least in part provided by the spaced-apart wheels.
As to nestability, it should be noted that a container having nestable sections is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,113,690 issued to G. F. Swenck, Dec. 10, 1963. However, this container neither has a wheelbarrow configuration nor slots integral to the body in order to permit forklift operation. Moreover, according to U.S. Pat. No. 3,524,415, issued to Albert W. Helman, there have been provided nestable trays with integrally formed feet so as to permit the use of forklift trucks. However, in this patent the tray is not the container, but rather a container sits within the tray and is strapped thereto. Another type tray construction is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,477,631, issued to C. K. Dunlap, Jr., et al. on Nov. 11, 1969.
The above enumerates just a small number of patents in which various features are illustrated.
However, it will be appreciated that in all of the patents discussed thus far, no wheelbarrow configuration is shown, but rather spaced-apart wheels are utilized. Moreover, while various trays have been provided with slots to accommodate the prongs or tines of a forklift truck, nowhere does it appear that an integral container containing such slots is provided with means for converting it into a wheelbarrow configuration.
It will be appreciated that the ability to quickly convert a shipping container into a wheelbarrow configuration permits ease of handling at the loading or unloading site and provides an inexpensive method of transporting the shipping containers for short distances even if the purpose is to align them for longer distance travel through the utilization of forklift truck apparatus.
It will be appreciated that a wheelbarrow by definition is one that obtains its primary lateral stability by the utilization of two arms and a single wheel or wheels with the arms providing the lateral stability.
In one embodiment of the subject invention, a unitary double-halved shipping container is provided with an integral wheel well and detachable wheelbarrow arms and wheel, thereby to convert the container into a wheelbarrow. This permits ease of handling and maneuvering at low cost due to the quickly detachable arms and wheel. Integral slots are provided in the container to accommodate the prongs of a conventional forklift truck should movement of a number of containers be desired or should the distance be such as to be more conveniently done by forklift machinery. The halves of the container are nestable and the slots accommodate conventional shipping straps. The wheel assembly includes a U-shaped spring member, the ends of which are brought together for ease of insertion of the wheel assembly into the wheel well. Squeezing the ends together also facilitates release of the wheel assembly. The U-shaped spring member is also provided with a number of outwardly projecting protrusions to secure the wheel assembly to the container when the ends of the U-shaped member are released.
As to the wheelbarrow arms, a channelled member is provided on either side of the container at the end opposite that in which the wheel well is formed. These channel members accommodate arms which are inserted into the channel and which may be locked into place or are kept in place via friction. Moreover, a detent of any type may be utilized to secure the wheelbarrow arms within the channels.
When not in use, the wheel assembly and wheelbarrow arms may be shipped with the container itself or may be available either at the loading or unloading site depending on the type of application envisioned. It will be appreciated that the containers when made of polyethelyne are reusable, as are the wheel assemblies and wheelbarrow arms. Thus, only a few pairs of arms and wheel assemblies need be located at any one depot or on/off-loading site.
What has, therefore, been provided is a protective shipping container in which the containers may be grouped for palletized shipment by virtue of their conversion to wheelbarrow type configurations for limited movement at the on/off-loading site. The shipping containers are nestable and reusable and have integral pallet slots which provide feet that are spaced apart far enough to accommodate forklift prongs. Ease of maneuverability at the loading and unloading site is provided by the wheelbarrow configuration which provides a convenient method of manual transport. Not only is a convenient method of manual transport provided by the wheelbarrow configuration, but the utilization of the wheelbarrow configuration reduces mishandling accidents and increases accessibility. The quick connect and disconnect features are also important in that the wheel assembly and arms are quickly attachable and also reusable.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a material handling method and apparatus which includes the utilization of a container which is easily and quickly converted into a wheelbarrow type configuration.
Another object of this invention is to provide a container with an integral wheel well and releasably mounted wheel assembly therein, as well as a pair of releasably mounted wheelbarrow arms so as to facilitate manual movement of the shipping container.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide a nestable, reusable shipping container and apparatus for converting the container into a wheelbarrow-like configuration for ease of transport of the shipping container.
It is another object of this invention to provide the combination of a shipping container which has both an integral wheel well and integral slots or grooves adapted to receive the prongs of a forklift truck and which is further provided with a wheel assembly and wheelbarrow arms, thereby to provide a shipping container which is easily manually moveable.
These and other objects of the invention will be more apparent when taken in conjunction with the following specification when viewed in connection with the following drawings: